Ethnic People Groups of Zambia

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Zambia

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Zambia – People Groups

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People Groups (click people name for profile)	Population	Indig	% Evangel	% Adherent	Progress Scale	Primary Religion	Primary Language	Pho	Map	Txt
Afrikaner	101,000		20.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Afrikaans	0P Afrikaner	1	1
Ambo	4,500	Y●	5.00 %	90.00 %	4	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Arab, Lebanese	3,800		0.50 %	32.00 %	2	Islam	Arabic, North Levantine Spoken	0P Arab, Lebanese	1	1
Aushi	185,000	Y●	24.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Aushi	0P Aushi	1	1
Bemba	4,900,000	Y●	35.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	0P Bemba	1	1
Bisa	366,000	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	0T
British	12,000		8.80 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	English	0P British	1	1
Bwile	103,000	Y●	19.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bwile	1	1	1
Chokwe	114,000		12.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Cokwe	1	1	1
Cishinga	119,000	Y●	12.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Deaf	138,000	Y●		86.95 %	3	Christianity	Zambian Sign Language	1	1	1
French	7,600		1.00 %	61.00 %	3	Christianity	French	0P French	1	0T
Greek	10,000		0.40 %	91.00 %	3	Christianity	Greek	0P Greek	1	0T
Gujarati	43,000		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Hinduism	Gujarati	0P Gujarati	0M Gujarati of Zambia	0T
Han Chinese, Mandarin	51,000		5.70 %	9.00 %	4	Non-Religious	Chinese, Mandarin	0P Han Chinese, Mandarin	1	0T
Ila	180,000	Y●	17.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Ila	0P Ila	1	0T
Italian	13,000		1.10 %	82.00 %	3	Christianity	Italian	0P Italian	1	1
Iwa	7,800	Y●	13.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Nyamwanga	1	1	1
Jew, English-speaking	3,400		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Ethnic Religions	English	0P Jew, English-speaking	1	0T
Kabende	83,000	Y●	16.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Kaonde	381,000	Y●	28.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Kaonde	1	1	1
Kunda	58,000	Y●	13.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Kunda	1	1	1
Kxoe, Xun	200	Y●	3.00 %	8.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Khwedam	0P Kxoe, Xun	0M Kxoe, Xun of Zambia	1
Lala-Bisa	724,000	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	0P Lala-Bisa	1	1
Lamba	366,000	Y●	22.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Lamba	0P Lamba	1	1
Lamba-Lima	4,200	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lamba	1	1	1
Lambya, Rambia	18,000	Y●	13.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Lambya	0P Lambya, Rambia	1	1
Lenje	237,000	Y●	17.00 %	70.00 %	5	Christianity	Lenje	0P Lenje	1	0T
Leya	18,000	Y●	2.00 %	20.00 %	2	Ethnic Religions	Tonga	1	1	1
Lozi	1,152,000	Y●	19.00 %	83.00 %	5	Christianity	Lozi	0P Lozi	1	1
Luano	3,000	Y●	8.00 %	80.00 %	4	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Luchazi	55,000		40.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Luchazi	0P Luchazi	1	1
Lunda, Luapula	220,000	Y●	18.00 %	93.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Lunda, Northwest	416,000	Y●	21.00 %	88.00 %	5	Christianity	Lunda	0P Lunda, Northwest	1	1
Luvale	316,000	Y●	26.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Luvale	0P Luvale	1	1
Luyana	4,800	Y●	18.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Luyana	1	1	1
Mambwe-Lungu	383,000	Y●	21.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Mambwe-Lungu	0P Mambwe-Lungu	1	1
Masi	35,000	Y●	13.00 %	40.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Mashi	0P Masi	1	1
Mbowe	800	Y●	8.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Mbowe	1	1	1
Mbukushu	11,000	Y●	20.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Mbukushu	0P Mbukushu	1	1
Mbunda	153,000	Y●	27.00 %	50.00 %	5	Christianity	Mbunda	0P Mbunda	1	1
Mukulu	9,500	Y●	13.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Ndebele	14,000		4.00 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	Ndebele	0P Ndebele	1	1
Nkoya, Lambya	65,000	Y●	25.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Nkoya	0P Nkoya, Lambya	1	1
Nsenga	749,000	Y●	18.00 %	89.00 %	5	Christianity	Nsenga	0P Nsenga	1	1
Nyamwanga	250,000	Y●	20.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Nyamwanga	0P Nyamwanga	1	1
Nyanja, Chewa	1,860,000	Y●	30.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Chichewa	0P Nyanja, Chewa	1	0T
Nyiha, Tanzania	756,000	Y●	9.00 %	40.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Nyiha, Tanzania	0P Nyiha, Tanzania	0M Nyiha, Tanzania of Zambia	1
Nyika	9,900	Y●	4.00 %	75.00 %	4	Christianity	Nyika	1	1	1
Portuguese	5,200		3.00 %	94.00 %	4	Christianity	Portuguese	0P Portuguese	1	1
Sala	43,000	Y●	11.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Sala	1	1	1
Senga	147,000	Y●	12.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Tumbuka	1	1	1
Serb	5,100		0.60 %	80.00 %	3	Christianity	Serbian	0P Serb	1	0T
Shasha, Mashasha	2,200	Y●	6.00 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	Nkoya	1	1	1
Shona	40,000	Y●	12.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Shona	0P Shona	1	1
Simaa	9,200	Y●	9.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Imilangu, Mdundulu	6,700	Y●	14.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Makoma	26,000	Y●	10.00 %	40.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Mwenyi	8,500	Y●	12.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Soli	63,000	Y●	18.00 %	55.00 %	5	Christianity	Soli	0P Soli	1	1
Subia	2,500	Y●	7.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Kuhane	1	1	1
Swahili	46,000		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Islam	Swahili	0P Swahili	0M Swahili of Zambia	0T
Swahili, Congo	44,000		3.00 %	16.00 %	4	Islam	Swahili, Congo	1	1	1
Swaka	70,000	Y●	18.00 %	84.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Tabwa	51,000		14.00 %	63.00 %	5	Christianity	Taabwa	0P Tabwa	1	1
Tabwa, Shila	7,600	Y●	12.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Taabwa	1	1	1
Toka	28,000	Y●	7.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Tonga	0P Toka	1	1
Tonga, Zambezi	2,433,000	Y●	27.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Tonga	0P Tonga, Zambezi	1	1
Totela	2,100	Y●	6.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Totela	1	1	1
Tumbuka	527,000		20.00 %	87.00 %	5	Christianity	Tumbuka	0P Tumbuka	0M Tumbuka of Zambia	0T
Tumbuka, Yombe	3,700	Y●	3.00 %	90.00 %	4	Christianity	Tumbuka	1	1	1
Unga	46,000	Y●	21.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Yao, Muslim	5,000		1.00 %	3.00 %	1	Islam	Yao	0P Yao, Muslim	0M Yao, Muslim of Zambia	0T
Yauma	13,000		7.00 %	80.00 %	4	Christianity	Yauma	1	0M Yauma of Zambia	0T
Total People Groups: 74	18,349,000	54			4			41	7	14
Unclassified / Other Individuals	35,000
UN Country Population (2020)	18,384,000

Zambia –

% of People Groups ^[1]

% of Population in People Group ^{[1] [2]}

Progress Level		Peoples	% of Peoples	Population	% of Population ^[2]
	1 - Unreached	4	5.4 %	97,000	0.5 %
	2 - Minimally reached	2	2.7 %	22,000	0.1 %
	3 - Superficially reached	5	6.8 %	174,000	0.9 %
	4 - Partially reached	19	25.7 %	987,000	5.4 %
	5 - Significantly reached	44	59.5 %	17,069,000	93.0 %
Totals		74		18,349,000

NOTES:

Small Values: Values less than .3% are not shown on pie charts for labeling clarity.
% of Population in People Group: The percentage of the population that lives in a people group at each progress level. Not every person living in an unreached people group is necessarily unreached.

Zambia – People Photos * Note: Only people groups with photos available are displayed here.*

Afrikaner 101,000	Arab, Lebanese 3,800	Aushi 185,000	Bemba 4,900,000	British 12,000	French 7,600
Greek 10,000	Gujarati 43,000	Han Chinese, Mandarin 51,000	Ila 180,000	Italian 13,000	Jew, English-speaking 3,400
Kxoe, Xun 200	Lala-Bisa 724,000	Lamba 366,000	Lambya, Rambia 18,000	Lenje 237,000	Lozi 1,152,000
Luchazi 55,000	Lunda, Northwest 416,000	Luvale 316,000	Mambwe-Lungu 383,000	Masi 35,000	Mbukushu 11,000
Mbunda 153,000	Ndebele 14,000	Nkoya, Lambya 65,000	Nsenga 749,000	Nyamwanga 250,000	Nyanja, Chewa 1,860,000
© Copyrighted Photo Nyiha, Tanzania 756,000	Portuguese 5,200	Serb 5,100	Shona 40,000	Soli 63,000	© Copyrighted Photo Swahili 46,000
© Copyrighted Photo Tabwa 51,000	Toka 28,000	Tonga, Zambezi 2,433,000	Tumbuka 527,000	Yao, Muslim 5,000
Zambia People Photos * Note: Only people groups with photos available are displayed here.*

Zambia – Languages

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)

Language (click Language name for details)	Language Code	# Peoples Primary Language	# Unreached Primary Language	Bible Status	Bible Locator	Audio NT Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Afrikaans	afr	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	0
Arabic, North Levantine Spoken	apc	1	0	Portions	0	1	1	0	1
Aushi	auh	1	0	Trans Started	1	1	1	1	1
Bemba	bem	6	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Bwile	bwc	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Chichewa	nya	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Chinese, Mandarin	cmn	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Cokwe	cjk	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
English	eng	2	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
French	fra	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Greek	ell	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Gujarati	guj	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Ila	ilb	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Italian	ita	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Kaonde	kqn	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Khwedam	xuu	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Kuhane	sbs	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	0	1
Kunda	kdn	1	0	NT	0	0	0	1	1
Lala-Bisa	leb	5	0	NT	0	1	0	1	1
Lamba	lam	2	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Lambya	lai	1	0	NT	0	0	0	0	1
Lenje	leh	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Lozi	loz	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Luchazi	lch	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Lunda	lun	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Luvale	lue	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Luyana	lyn	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Mambwe-Lungu	mgr	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Mashi	mho	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Mbowe	mxo	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Mbukushu	mhw	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Mbunda	mck	1	0	Complete	0	1	1	0	1
Ndebele	nde	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Nkoya	nka	2	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Nsenga	nse	1	0	NT	0	1	1	1	1
Nyamwanga	mwn	2	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Nyiha, Tanzania	nih	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Nyika	nkv	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Portuguese	por	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Sala	shq	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	0	1
Serbian	srp	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Shona	sna	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Simaa	sie	4	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Soli	sby	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Swahili	swh	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Swahili, Congo	swc	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Taabwa	tap	2	0	NT	0	0	1	0	1
Tonga	toi	3	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Totela	ttl	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Tumbuka	tum	3	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Yao	yao	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Yauma	yax	1	0	Portions	0	1	1	0	1
Zambian Sign Language	zsl	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Totals:	53	74	4		45	25	40	44	15

Zambia –

Major Religions ^{[1] [3]}

Evangelicals: 25.1 %
(subset of Christianity)

Christianity Segments ^{[2] [3]}

(Evangelicals distributed across
Christianity Segments)

% Evangelical and % Professing Christian Trends ^[4]

NOTES:

Major Religions: Each People Group's population is multiplied by the Major Religion percentages for that people group. Results are summed for each Religion for all Peoples within the country.
Christianity Segments: Each People Group's population is multiplied by the Christianity Segments percentages for that people group. Results are summed for each Christianity Segment for all peoples within the country.
Small Values: Values less than .3% are not shown on pie charts for labeling clarity.
% Evangelical and % Professing Christian Trends: Source Operation World Editions 1986, 1993, 2001, 2010.
Zero percent data values may mean unknown or unavailable.

Zambia – Possible Ministry Involvement

Below are lists of ministries that may work in Zambia. Ministries in the Zambia section probably minister in this country. Ministries in the Africa, East and Southern section only possibly minister in this country. The purpose of this information is to assist potential new missionaries connect with sending agencies and for general ministry networking. Click on the links below to visit ministry websites for further information. Visit the Power-Of-Connecting "Find a Network Tool" to find further networking information.
The lists below do not include all ministries at work in this country or region. There are likely many excellent ministries not listed here. Omissions are not intentional, but occur simply from lack of data. Please contact us to suggest other ministries to include here. Inclusion here is not an endorsement by Joshua Project.

Ministries in Zambia

Ministries in Africa, East and Southern

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)

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)

Country Level Ministries	Size
Action International Ministries	Medium
Baptist International Outreach	Medium
Baptist World Aid, Australia	Small
Brethren in Christ World Missions	Medium
Christian Brethren Assemblies	Large
Church of God, Anderson, Indiana	Medium
Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee	Medium
Dorothea Mission	Medium
Global Partners / Wesleyan World Missions	Medium
Gospel Fellowship Association	Medium
Gospelink, Incorporated	Medium
Grace Ministries International	Medium
I. N. Network	Medium
International Partnership Ministries	Medium
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	Medium
Ireland Outreach International	Small
Liebenzell Mission International	Medium
LifeWind	Medium
Map International	Medium
Missionary Ventures International	Medium
Navigators, International Missions Group	Medium
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada	Medium
TEAR Australia	Medium
TearFund Switzerland	Small
TearFund UK	Large
Teen Missions International	Medium
Walk Thru the Bible Ministries	Medium
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, World Missions	Small
Women to the World	Small
Ministries Listed: 29

Regional Level Ministries	Size
ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism)	Large
Advancing Renewal Ministries, Inc.	Medium
Anglican Frontier Missions	Small
Assemblies of God World Missions	Large
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, World Missions	Medium
Awana Clubs, International	Medium
Baptist Bible Fellowship, International	Medium
Baptist International Missions, Inc. (BIMI)	Medium
Baptist Mid-Missions	Medium
BCM International	Medium
Bible League	Medium
Campus Crusade for Christ, International	Large
Child Evangelism Fellowship	Medium
Church of God of Prophecy	Medium
Church of the Nazarene World Mission Department	Medium
Church World Service	Medium
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship	Medium
EFCA International Mission	Medium
EQUIP Foundation	Small
Evangelical Covenant Church	Medium
Every Home for Christ	Medium
Final Frontiers Foundation	Large
Free Methodist World Missions	Medium
Friends in Action, International	Small
Galcom International	Small
Globe International	Medium
GO International	Small
Go Ye Fellowship	Medium
Good News Productions	Medium
Heart of God Ministries	Medium
Hope for the Hungry	Medium
InterComm	Small
Iris Ministries, Inc.	Medium
Josue Yrion World Evangelism and Missions	Small
Mailbox Club International	Small
Middle East Media	Medium
Open Bible Churches	Small
Overland Missions	Small
Pentecostal Church of God World Missions	Small
Scripture Union	Medium
Seventh-day Adventists General Conference	Medium
Silent Word Ministries	Small
Southern Baptist Convention - International Mission Board	Large
Talking Bibles International	Small
Team Expansion	Medium
Tentmakers International	Small
United Methodist Church	Medium
United Pentecostal Church Foreign Missions	Medium
United World Mission	Medium
Worldwide Tentmakers, Incorporated	Small
Young Life	Medium
Youth with a Mission	Large
Ministries Listed: 52

Zambia – Statistics, Prayer Cards, Maps and Links


Statistics

Population	18,349,000
Percent Urbanization	44 %
Total People Groups	74
Unreached People Groups	4
Region	Africa, East and Southern
10/40 Window	No
Official National Language	English
Primary Religion	Christianity
Percent Professing Christian	86.8% ^[1]
Percent Evangelical	25.1% ^[2]
Country Progress Level	5
Persecution Ranking	Not ranked (1=High to 50=Low OD)
Human Development Index	0.579 (0=Low to 1=High UN)

Links

State Department Religious Freedom Report

Notes

[1] Calculated by summing the major religion data for the people groups in the country.

[2] Calculated by summing the Evangelical data for the people groups in the country.


Prayer Cards

	All Unreached

Maps

Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection



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